Alexandre-Aimée Baker
Special to the Tribune
When you think of a traditional Northern Ontario upbringing surrounded by quiet fields in Sturgeon Falls, drag pageantry and national television competitions might not be the first things that come to mind. But for Michel Gervais, known on stage as the fabulous, bilingual drag powerhouse Jenna Seppa, that exact rural backdrop was the launching pad for a creative journey that went all the way to Toronto and back again. As West Nipissing kicks off Pride Month, Gervais’ story isn’t just one of individual bravery; it is a masterclass in what happens when a family chooses unconditional love and active celebration over judgement.
Growing up on Sabourin Road, Michel Gervais’ childhood home sat right on the edge of local farm country. While it wasn’t a working farm, the rural landscape was quite literally right in their backyard. But look a little closer, and the performance roots were always there. During summers at the family cottage, Michel and his sister were constantly glued to a camcorder. “We filmed productions outside and inside the house,” he recalls, “but not just that, we also made commercial breaks with ads in between.”
After graduating from École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité in 2017, Gervais moved to Toronto to study film at Ryerson University, now Toronto Metropolitan University. It was there, at a campus nestled right next to the city’s famous Gay Village on Church Street, that Jenna Seppa was born. Gervais began experimenting with makeup in his dorm, though he admits with a laugh that the very first time he tried drag, he didn’t actually leave the house.
His true debut happened on his residence’s fashion floor during Frosh Week, wearing a long zip-up hoodie, a massive hat, a long black bob, gold makeup, and silver Chelsea boots. The stage soon followed, along with a name dreamed up during a walk with his sister.
The name Jenna Seppa also served as a clever bilingual play on words. “I also liked the idea of having a bilingual name, where even the Anglophones get the joke. For example: ‘Do you speak French? Je ne sais pas (I don’t know).’ It was also a little francophone quirk; in Toronto, people quickly recognized, ‘Oh yeah, Jenna Seppa is the francophone.’”
